SMART Goals and Pygmalion Effect

                    Another day started at NITIE with Principles of Organization and Management and this time we started our discussion with 3-D printing. We discussed the costs involved in the same, it's future and potential. Dr. Prasad also told us that few of our seniors were venturing into this field and asked if anybody wanted to volunteer. So, as expected, our class began on unexpected terms. One of the good things about Principles of Organization and Management is that one has to just go with an open mind. The amount of knowledge he garners then would be tremendous.

                    Just as we were discussing 3-D printing, Dr. Prasad brought forth a cube made of straws. It had 2-coloured straws with the red ones being of the same length and the same pattern followed for the yellow ones. All were asked to identify the uniqueness of this cube. The answer that came out was it could be used to teach (a+b)2 = a2 + 2ab + b2 . 

                    Thus we learnt that we have knowledge surrounded in every simple thing around us or rather we could make knowledge disbursing much simpler than what it is now. All it requires is a little effort.

                    Next we moved on to the concept of SMART Goals. Here we made aware of the following parameters to be considered before goal setting :

1) Goal Set

2) Goal Achieved

3) Goal ( Historical )

4) Potential

Here we understood that Goal Set > Potential > Goal Achieved > Goal ( Historical ).

Here SMART is an abbreviation which can have many meanings. I would be listing a few to get an idea.

S - Specific, Simple, Sensible

M - Measurable, Motivating

A - Achievable, Ambitious

R - Rational, Realistic

T - Time Bound, Tangible

                    This lead us to another theory, the Pygmalion Effect. The theory is named after a play by George Bernard Shaw named Pygmalion. It is also called as the Rosenthal Effect. It is the phenomenon in which greater the expectation placed upon people, the better they perform. So, in continuation with the tower building exercise, new volunteers were chosen who dared to dream big. They set a target of 50 blocks after discussing among themselves. They raised their bar, their expectations. And voila ! They achieved more than the previous history of 27 blocks. This taught us an important lesson. Aim high to achieve high.

                    Below is the picture of the record-breaking tower.

                    Be hungry for more knowledge. Till then, happy learning and happy blogging !

Craftsmanship v/s Modern Management

                    After two thought-provoking lectures, we were ready for our next lesson in life ( read : Principles of Organization and Management ). The next interaction took the discussion forward from where we left it in the previous class. As we had learned the nuances of organization management through the tower exercise, Dr. Prasad went on to explain the difference between Craftsmanship and Modern Management.

                    As seen in the picture above, a tailor who runs a small shop does everything by himself. The activities include taking measurements, cutting the cloth, stitching them, etc. Now if the same job is carried out by a big company like Raymonds, most of the job would be divided into segments and each task would be assigned to a particular department. Each task is further divided into elements to simplify the job further.

                    The difference between  Craftsmanship and Modern Management can be best depicted through a table:

                    One important point to note is that the level of satisfaction as well the personalized touch to the purchases made by the customer is more in case of craftsmanship than modern management.

           Another important concept that we came across was that of "Excellence". Excellence is a combination of two factors: Efficiency and Effectiveness. Effectiveness refers to how close one is to the intended target with the minimum inputs. Efficiency is getting the maximum output from minimum input. A combination of both these factors bring out excellence.

Thus, 

                 EXCELLENCE = EFFECTIVENESS * EFFICIENCY

We discussed few examples pertaining to this and managed to get a clear picture on what amounts to excellence.

                    So that brings us to the end of another enriching experience. Happy learning and happy blogging.

The Tower of Hope

                    Another day! Another start! Life@NITIE is the epitome of Life@Mumbai, the city which never sleeps. With the hope of mastering the art of performing without sleep, we entered the class next morning waiting for Dr. Prasad. And this time he had blocks with letters/numbers on them. By now we knew that something interesting and intellectually stimulating was to follow.

                    The task was to put as many blocks on top of each other so as to make the tallest tower. But there was one catch! The "charges" to try building the tower were Rs. 500! One brave classmate was up for the task and he successfully managed to build a tower with 16 blocks. Commendable Performance!

                 Now to make us understand the nuances of organization and management, Dr. Prasad changed the rules of the game. Now, 9 people had to volunteer to build the tower. Of those 9 people, 1 would be building the tower under the guidance of another classmate. The remaining 7 people could give suggestions, but only to the one guiding the builder. What followed was chaos with the builder not being able to comprehend instructions due to excess of management.

                    This exercise made us realize that most of the middle-management contribute to chaos rather than productivity. An optimum number of people in an organization is of utmost importance else the lower rung of people would be unsure of where their loyalty lies. And what follows won't help the cause of the organization.

                    Another interesting discussion that we had with Dr. Prasad was related to Theory X and Theory Y in management. Following are the various interpretations of the theory.

1) Theory X ( Case 1 ) : Workers are lazy and manager assumes that they are lazy.

                    In this case, the manager is bang on when it comes to judging the interest levels of his employees. Though this case won't contribute towards making the organization better, it at least gives the manager the true picture.

2) Theory X ( Case 2 ) : Workers aren't lazy and manager assumes that they are lazy.

                   This is a case every manager must be beware of. In this case, the manager fails to identify the true calibre of his subordinates which results in lower productivity. The workers are ready to work day in and day out but the manager fails to identify with them.

3) Theory Y ( Case 1 ) : Workers are lazy and the manager assumes that they aren't lazy.

                   This is a dangerous case for the organization where the manager burdens the workers with countless jobs assuming that they like the job while the reality is much different. Such cases might cause distress among the employees leading to dissatisfaction in the job.

4) Theory Y ( Case 2 ) : Workers aren't lazy and manager assumes that they aren't lazy.

                   This is just like a shot in the arm for the organization. The workers love their jobs. The manager gives them ample scope to share responsibility which the subordinates are more than happy to do. A win-win situation for any organization.

                    According to me, Theory Y ( Case 2 ) is the best among all and the organization would be lucky to have this particular way of working. Also, I feel Theory X ( Case 2 ) is bad for the organization as the employees find themselves underutilized leading to dissatisfaction.

                    So, here was my description of Dr. Prasad's yet another though-provoking session. Looking forward for many more such sessions. Till then, happy learning and happy blogging!

    

   

Start of Life@NITIE with Dr. Mandi

                     Ever since I set my mind on doing an MBA, NITIE was one of the few institutes I dreamt of getting into. Operations being my favourite subject during engineering, it was a no-brainer when NITIE handed me my coveted convert. And with all the excitement that I could muster, I set foot in God's Own Campus on the 12th of June. The first few days were spent interacting with seniors and fellow classmates, everyone eagerly awaiting their first day in the class. And who would have imagined that we would be in for a pleasant surprise! Dr. Mandi stepped into the class for the Communications lecture. It was our first chance to experience Dr. Prasad's unique way of teaching. 

                    The day started with Dr. Prasad probing everyone with the cost of their MBA. After including all the factors- tuition, living expenses, leaving a job in hand, etc.- our per day cost (PDC) came out to be a whopping Rs. 2500. So ensued our discussion on how we could manage to fund our MBA so as not to be called a "beggar". This gave rise to a slogan by Dr. Prasad- "Apni roti khud kamaenge"(We would earn our own bread and butter). We even took an oath in the class! Dr. Prasad introduced us to the concept of entrepreneurship at NITIE. He proposed the idea of "Socho-Becho, Becho-Seekho, Seekho-Socho", stimulating our eager minds to think more on what could be done. What ensued was one of the best discussions I have had, with everybody pitching in giving a plethora of opinions.

                    The second class started in the same surprisingly pleasant manner as the first. We started with a Pink Floyd song- "Another brick in the wall". With everyone humming the song, the tone for the rest of the class was set. Dr. Prasad urged us to stand out in a crowd, avoid being just another brick in the wall. Ankit Gehlot was asked to recite a poem as poetry was what he blogged on and I must say the lines carried a more profound meaning to them than what it seemed from the outside.

                    So this was my first day@NITIE with Dr. Mandi and I am sure everyone of us loved interacting with each other as much as I have. I just wonder if the first day was so eventful, how would the next 2 years be! 

                    Looking forward to the next class! Till then, happy learning and happy blogging.